By: Deborah Johnson Wood
A marketing firm from Saugatuck pulled up its roots last week and relocated its 10 employees to Grand Rapids’ Heartside district.
Brian Steketee, of the Steketee’s Department Store family, and David Greiner, a Chicago native, formed Context MG in 2007, bringing together 20 years of marketing experience. The company added eight employees almost immediately, and plans to add four new jobs in the next six months.
“Brian and I both believe in the growth in Grand Rapids,” David Greiner says. “We love how it’s being handled. We love how Grand Rapids is positioned. We want to use the new office space for a showroom for what we believe in, building it out in a fun way with creative lighting and an interesting conference room.”
The two owners planned that the new 3,600-square-foot office, 44 Grandville SW, would be enough space for the next five to 10 years. But Greiner says they’re going to need more space soon to make enough room for the four future staff members. The new positions include an art director, a programmer, and a public relations specialist.
Greiner, 38, grew up on Chicago’s south side. As a youth, he spent summers in Fennville, where he lives now. His fiancé will move to Fennville from New York City later this month.
Steketee, 30, grew up in East Grand Rapids, moved to Chicago after college to join a marketing firm, and has since returned to East Grand Rapids.
“With all the gloom and doom around us there’s still an energy for growth in Grand Rapids,” Greiner notes. “We want to be part of the excitement, we want to help, we want to invest in new businesses.”
Source: David Greiner, Context MG
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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